Nothing if not loyal
by Barb1
Summary: Logan and Veronica are finally together. Until a former drug dealing boyfriend reenters the picture.
1. Chapter 1

"Logan," Veronica warned, recognizing the way his breathing was getting more ragged, his hands more exploratory.

"Um, hmm," he mumbled as he continued to kiss her neck and he began pulling her shirt out of her jeans.

"Logan, my dad will be home any minute."

"This'll only take a minute," he assured her. But Veronica knew better. She put her hands on his chest and gently pushed him away. "You promised…" he groaned as he tried to capture her lips again.

Grinning, she turned away from him.

_The memory of him standing in her living room earlier in the evening, hair slicked back, leather pants, leather jacket and a studded collar around his neck was priceless. When she approached him with the black eyeliner he put his hands up and backpedaled away from her. _

_"You're kidding right?"_

_Before she could respond, there was Wallace's customary single knock before he let himself in. He stopped dead when he saw Veronica in her black wig, ripped leggings, mini skirt and death metal t-shirt, trying to apply eyeliner to Logan who was in an equally outlandish get up. _

_Wallace slapped a hand over his eyes. "Please tell me you're going undercover somewhere and this is not some role playing game who's images will leave me damaged beyond repair."_

_Logan grinned. "Don't judge lest you be judged, Wallace. We all have our fetishes." _

_Veronica gave him a small shove that knocked him back on the couch._

_"Goth club," she said to Wallace, who peeked between his fingers until Veronica settled on Logan's lap and then he snapped his fingers shut again. "We're looking for a runaway."_

_Veronica leaned forward to apply the eyeliner and Logan jerked his head away. _

_"Stay still or you could lose an eye," she said. "I know of what I speak and you would not look good in an eye patch."_

_Wallace lowered his hand and grinned. "Can you hold on while I go grab your camera?"_

_He turned toward Veronica's room and Logan thrust out an accusatory finger. _

_"One more step Fennel and you're a dead man." _

_Veronica grabbed Logan's chin and started applying the eyeliner. Wallace broke into a fit of laughter. _

_"Why aren't you doing this? "Logan demanded. "Aren't you usually Ronnie's girl Friday when it comes to these things?"_

_"I don't think you should be talking "girl" Friday with me while you're in the middle of getting a make over."_

_Logan grumbled curses under his breath. _

_"I told you, Wallace has a basketball game tonight." Veronica said, leaning back to examine her work. "Perfect."_

_"I don't know, Veronica," Wallace said. "I think his dog collar is eschew."_

_"That's it," Logan tried getting to his feet but Veronica was still firmly planted on his lap. _

_"Wallace," she said, "Stop it." Then she turned and smiled at Logan. "I promise, you will be rewarded for your sacrifice." Then she leaned in and kissed him and Wallace slapped his hand over his eyes again._

"I'm a woman of my word," Veronica mumbled, as Logan started tugging at her shirt again. "But do you really want to risk my dad coming home and putting a permanent end to any future bargaining potential?"

With a frustrated groan he pulled away from her. "Well I should go then," he decided. "Because I cannot resist your elemental hotness."

He stood up and grabbed his jacket.

"So, tomorrow, same bat time, same bat channel?" He held his hands out to her.

She reached out and intertwined her fingers in his. On tiptoe, she kissed him. After a minute he pulled her into his arms and started walking her back toward the couch.

"It'll only hurt for a minute," he mumbled against her mouth. "It'll be worth it…"

Veronica pushed him away. "Go."

Grinning he gave her another short kiss and left. Veronica closed the door behind him and sighed.

_Logan Echolls, my boyfriend. Who'd a thunk it?_

The phone rang and she hurried to the counter and picked it up. It was her father's voice on the line.

"Hey, honey. Not doing anything I wouldn't do, are you?"

"Considering what you do perhaps you should rethink the question," Veronica replied.

"Noted. So I'm not going to make it home tonight," Keith Mars said.

"Exactly what I mean…"

"I'm working," he added hastily. "I got a lead on our runaway. No luck at the Goth club?"

"Other then entertainment value?" She grinned, thinking of Logan. "No."

"You'll be OK?"

"Aren't I always?"

She hung up with her father and went into her bedroom. As she got ready for bed she found the collar Logan had been wearing earlier in the evening. She picked it up and smiled. She had asked him once if things would ever be normal between them. Apparently not. She pulled back her covers and slipped into bed.

_I wouldn't want it any other way._

She didn't know how long she'd been asleep but she guessed it had been a while because she was still in a fog of dreams when she felt her waterbed dip underneath her. She rubbed her eyes groggily and felt his hands slip around her waist.

"Logan," she whispered, turning around to face him. "Are you crazy…."

But it wasn't Logan she found snuggling next to her. It was Troy Vandegraff. He smiled in that deceptively boyish way of his.

"Give us a smile, luv."


	2. Sentimental Feelings

Veronica went with her gut reaction. She pulled her legs back and rabbit kicked Troy in the stomach. She was aiming lower but she was satisfied enough with the result. Troy's eyes bulged and he doubled over. Veronica scrambled out of the bed, got tangled in the sheets, and fell.

She got to her feet and searched the room frantically for a weapon. Her stun gun was in her purse so she grabbed her bedside lamp and held it in front of her.

Troy sat up, clutching his stomach.

"That's not happiness to see me, beautiful."

"You're kidding, right? Why in a million years would you think I would be happy to see you?"

"What? No sentimental feelings for your Homecoming date?"

"I'm sorry but all my sentimental feelings went down the toilet with your drug stash."

"Ouch." He leaned back in the bed and rested on the headboard, making no indication that he was going anywhere. "You know, if anyone should be bitter about that it should be me. You ruined a very lucrative deal for me."

"My heart bleeds for you. Now I suggest you leave before I make something of _yours_ bleed."

"You're beautiful when you're making death threats, you know that?"

Veronica gave a cry of frustration and chucked the lamp at him. He dived out of the way and rolled off the bed.

"Backup!" She shouted.

Her beloved pitbull wandered in the room, swaggering like a drunken soldier.

"You drugged my dog!" She cried, stomping around the bed and standing over him as he lay prone on the floor. "How did you get in here?"

"Would you think less of me if I said I lifted a key when we were dating?"

"Nothing can make me think less of you," she said. "Get out."

He sat up. "Aren't you even a little curious why, after all this time, I came back to see you?"

"It'll have to be like the Bermuda Triangle or the Loch Ness Monster. It's a mystery the world will never solve."

Troy nodded and climbed to his feet.

"Fair enough," he said. He dusted himself off, gave her a salute, and walked toward her bedroom door. "Oh, hey, you're dating Logan Echolls these days aren't you?"

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Logan found his locker covered with tabloid excepts again. With one hand he grabbed them and ripped them down. He crumpled them and let the ball of paper fall to the floor. He didn't bother cleaning up the bits of newsprint that still clung to the metal door. There would be new ones the next day. And the next. It had become a fact of life and he didn't have any more suspensions to waste on dealing with them any more.

He fiddled with the locker combination and yanked it open. He started digging for his books when he heard the mocking voice of his former friend.

"Hey Logan, did you read the one about your dad's new roommate? He was convicted of murdering an entire family. Tell me, do you think he's your dad's type?"

Logan glared at Dick Casablancas and wondered for about the hundredth time how he could have ever been friend's with such a travesty of the human condition.

"Back off, _Dick_," Logan said, grabbing his books and slamming the locker shut. "Have I ever mention how appropriately you were named?"

He glanced over Dick's shoulder and saw Beaver sulking behind his brother. Dick had slammed Beaver for breaking their "sacred trust" and going to Veronica with the information about Logan being in town when Lilly was murdered. He still hadn't forgiven him, despite the fact that Dick now hated Logan. But no one ever accused Dick of being logical.

Logan tried walking passed them but Dick blocked his way.

"In the old days you never would have taken that crap from anyone," he said. Again Logan had to wonder about Dick's reasoning. Did he want him to bash his skull in?

"I don't take that crap from anyone--that matters."

Dick looked like Logan _had_ punched him. He was gearing up for a comeback, whether physical or verbal, Logan couldn't tell but he was ready to respond in kind.

"Hi sweetie."

Veronica walked up to them with a smile as bright a Windexed window. She threw her arms around Logan and kissed him. If her plan was to defuse him it worked because he turned to jell in her arms. She pulled away and shined her smile at Dick.

"Oh hi, Dick! I'm sorry to hear about your car getting repossessed. I guess those investments your dad made weren't such a good idea." She smiled at Beaver and gave him a short wave. "Hi Cassidy."

Being not so fond of his brother these days Cassidy (i.e. Beaver) tried not to grin but failed. Veronica grabbed Logan's hand and led him away. Logan grinned at Dick as she pulled him away.

"Ah, the little woman," he said happily. "Be afraid, Dick. Be very afraid."

Logan followed Veronica outside. He watched the sunlight glow around her blond hair like a halo and he marveled again at how amazing she was. They'd only been back in school a couple of weeks and his sudden reversal of status was wearing him down even if he would never admit it. She had withstood similar taunts and torment for a year. She had withstood it from _him_. And here they were now, he the outcast, she the star. The only thing that was more amazing was that they were together.

She was leading him to their lunch table and he pulled her back. The circle of friends that she'd gathered around them were already there--Wallace, Meg, Mac, Duncan. But at this moment he didn't feel like sharing.

"Hey, what say we skip lunch and find a nice, dark broom closet?"

She smiled at him and he noticed for the first time how tired she looked.

"Do you really want your payback to be in a room full of Mop&Glo?"

But he ignored her and put his hand on her cheek. "You OK?"

She smiled but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Yeah. I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night." She faked a yawn so she could avert her eyes.

Unconvinced, he let her lead them to their table.

"Come on, Mac," Meg was saying when they walked up. "It'll be fun."

"I think we have very different ideas of having fun," Mac said, biting into an apple. "Drunken boating in a hundred and twenty degree heat does not sound fun to me."

"We do not drive the boat drunk!" Duncan declared, affronted. "We park in a cove, get drunk, sober up and then drive back."

"It's the American way," Logan said, sitting down at the table.

"About that…." Veronica said. "I can't go."

Logan's head snapped back to her. "What?"

Logan had been looking forward to the weekend trip ever since Duncan suggested it. In the past it had always been a guy trip but this time he'd talked Duncan into making it coed. Logan had a secret motive, of course. There had been a pool party at the Kane house once and he had been putting suntan lotion on Lilly when Veronica climbed out of the pool in her pink bikini. His eyes followed her saunter over to Duncan and considering that she was his best friend's girlfriend and he was rubbing down his own girlfriend he pushed his lecherous thoughts to the back of his brain.

But now Veronica was his girlfriend and he was all about the lechery. He reveled in the idea of seeing her in a bikini, smelling tropical suntan lotion on her skin, seeing her wet and slick. He'd even bought her a pink bikini despite the looks he got when he made the purchase. He just held fast to the image of peeling it off of her.

"Is your dad giving you a hard time about me again?"

"Yes. No." Veronica seemed flustered. "He wants me to work. It's the runaway case, but I suspect he asked to keep me from going this weekend."

"Her dad loved me," Duncan mumbled.

Logan ignored him because he felt a squirming sensation in his stomach that he hadn't felt in a long time.

"Well then I'm out too." Logan said. Veronica's head snapped up.

"No. You should go," she insisted. "It'll be fun." She looked over at Mac. "Really."

Logan fell silent for the rest of the lunch break. Something uncomfortable stirring inside him.

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Veronica left the lunch table early to grab something out of her car, she said. But as soon as she turned the corner out of sight from her friends she pulled out her cell phone. Ruthlessly, she punched in Troy's number.

"Hi gorgeous," he answered. It angered her that he assumed it was her.

"You have me for 48 hours," she replied.

"Oh baby, you've just made all my dreams come true."

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Author's note: Thanks for all the reviews that I've already gotten on this story! A few of you asked about how Logan & Veronica got together. Well this is not a sequel to my previous story so you don't need to read it to understand this one but if you're interested in my take on how they got together check out "Bleed Like Me" and it's never too late to review it if you do!

For those you who already read it there will be no "required" CD purchases for this story. (although one of the Bleed Like Me songs will be making a cameo later on)


	3. The world's worst liar

Duncan was tossing his stuff in his duffel bag for the trip. Truth be told he was glad that Veronica wasn't going. He regretted letting Logan talk him into inviting her from the start. He knew that Logan had intended to share a room with her and Duncan wasn't sure how he felt about that. Except that throwing up came to mind.

He tried to accept that the two of them were a couple now. He really did. Only every time that he saw them together he wanted to punch something and cry out in frustration. He had been robbed of the love of his life.

He had tried to do the right thing. He broke up with Veronica because he thought she was his sister. Was he supposed to keep dating her after being burdened with that small detail? And now that he knew they weren't related he felt cheated. It had all been for nothing and it the meantime she'd moved on.

She had told him they couldn't get back together because she wasn't the same person any more. To which his reply had been "no duh". He knew she wasn't the same sweet, naïve big eyed girl he used to date. But despite the circumstances of her change, he liked the new Veronica Mars just as much as the old one. He loved how confident she was, how smart, how clever.

And he hated that it was Logan she was with now. Never in a million years would he have seen _that_ coming. And because Logan was his best friend he couldn't do anything about it. But he certainly wanted to.

His dark and gloomy thoughts were interrupted by the knock at the door. He tossed his trunks in his suitcase and walked to the front door. He felt a mixture of pain and joy when he found Veronica on the other side of the door.

"Hey," he said carefully. "Does this mean your dad's going to let you go?"

"Uh, no," Veronica replied. "I just wanted to give you this." She handed him a bottle of suntan lotion. "I know how easily you burn."

"Oookay." He took the bottle and let her in. She stepped inside and glanced around. "My parents aren't home," he said, guessing correctly that they were the last people on Earth she wanted to run into.

"Oh, good," she said, than caught herself. "I mean—well—oh good."

Duncan smiled. He hoped he didn't sound pathetically hopeful when he said: "So why are you really here?"

Veronica looked at him and frowned.

"If I ask you something will you promise not to ask me any questions or tell anyone that I asked?"

Now he frowned.

"I guess."

"What do you know about Troy Vandegraff?"

That knocked the wind out of his sails.

"Troy?"

"You're friends, right?"

"Well we use to be. I haven't seen him in a while. Didn't you go to Homecoming with him last year?"

"Yeah," she replied and didn't sound particularly happy about it.

"Well, his family used to have the slip next to ours at the marina. Every summer we use to hang. His parents were there this year but no sign of Troy. They were pretty mum about where he was. I think Logan told me he got shipped to some boarding school."

"Do you know any of his other friends?"

"Well he got along with pretty much everyone he came into contact with."

Veronica dug a picture out of her purse and showed it to him.

"Does this person look familiar?"

"Uh, yeah, actually."

"Do you know anything about her? Where she hung out? Who she hung out with?"

Duncan shrugged. "Not really. But I can make a couple of calls I guess."

"That would be great."

"But you know we leave for the river in, like an hour." The "we" meaning Logan, seemed to be implied.

Veronica bit her lip.

"I know. Like I said, you can't tell anyone about this."

Duncan reached over and rubbed her arm.

"You're not in any trouble are you?"

"Nothing I can't handle." She said with a fake smile that didn't reassure Duncan in any way.

"If I were the jealous type this is the point where I'd have to get all kinds of ugly." Logan dropped his duffel bag on the floor with a thud. "After all, it's not like I just found my girlfriend with her ex."

Duncan dropped his hand away from Veronica. Veronica tried not to groan.

_Subtle, Duncan, very subtle._

Instead she smiled and walked over to Logan.

"Good thing you're not the jealous type." She put her arms around his neck and directed his deadly gaze away from Duncan to her own. "Because we all know where my heart belongs, don't we?"

Logan looked down into her eyes and he felt the tension ease out of him. She was nothing, he knew, if not loyal to the people she loved. If she hadn't been, Lilly's real murderer would never have been found.

"Sorry," he mumbled. He leaned down and kissed her. "Old habits die hard."

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Veronica pulled up in front of Troy's house with the sick feeling of betrayal in her stomach. She had no problems with bending the truth from time to time for the greater good. But straight out lying, especially to Logan, made her queasy.

She watched Troy came bounding out of the house, looking positively giddy. He was in an eyesore of a Hawaiian shirt, a patch of pink suntan lotion on his nose and a big floppy hat. Despite the outfit, watching him cross the lawn reminded her of a time ages ago when she had just driven home from Arizona after a fruitless trip of trying to find her mom. She had been devastated and she'd pulled up in front of his house and called him. He'd come out of the house with a reassuring smile and he'd hugged her. Comforted her in the darkness. But she shook her head as he climbed in next to her. It had all been a lie. Every minute of it.

"You seem chipper," she said suspiciously.

"I have a beautiful woman at my side, the sun at my back, a night of fun and frolic ahead of me. I would be beyond ungrateful to complain, wouldn't I?"

Veronica shook her head and slipped her sunglasses on.

_This is going to be a long night._

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Logan's Xterra, booming with music and laughter, was almost to the river when Duncan got the call he'd been waiting for. He glanced at the caller ID and then slipped it back in his pocket. With Logan only a foot away he decided to let it go to voicemail.

"Aren't you going to get that?" Logan asked.

Duncan shook his head and smiled. "Nah, it's just my dad. I don't need the hassle."

Logan nodded and tried to ignore the sudden nausea that was creeping up his throat. Duncan was probably the world's worst liar.

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When they got to the vacation house they all bustled inside hefting their bags.

"Damn," Wallace said when they walked in the living room and took in the floor-to-vaulted-ceiling windows overlooking the Colorado river. Mac walked up behind him.

"So this is how the other half lives," she mumbled.

While they all scattered to go pick out their rooms Duncan walked back out to the car in the driveway to get his bag. Glancing over his shoulder he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and listened to his voicemail. When he finished he punched in Veronica's number.

"Veronica?" Duncan practically shouted, then cringed and looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was around. "Veronica? Where the hell are you?"

"Hell pretty much describes it," she replied, looking passed the massive bonfire at a party that was rapidly getting out of control. With the drunken laughter, squealing girls, and blaring music she could barely hear Duncan. "What did you find out?"

Duncan said something but she could barely hear him. Especially when Troy walked up to her saying: "Come on, dance baby dance!"

Veronica covered the phone, albeit too late to blot out his slightly drunken declaration, and glared at him. He started to do a tango in front of her. Sighing, she uncovered the phone, and started talking again.

"Duncan, I can barely hear you. Do me a favor and call me back and leave the information on my voicemail, OK?"

"Veronica?" Duncan asked. "Was that Troy?"

Veronica heard that loud and clear.

"I really can't hear you Duncan, leave me that voicemail OK?"

She snapped her phone off before he could say more.

_Damn. You're two for two in the lying department today and it's only Friday, Veronica Mars. By the end of the weekend you're going to need to become a nun to atone for everything. _

Troy grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms.

"Work with me, baby," he whispered in her ear. With a glare that could melt a glacier she smiled and slipped her arms around his neck.

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Duncan stared at his phone in bafflement.

Troy?

She wouldn't cheat on Logan, of that he was painfully certain. But what was she up to? He punched in her number again and waited as it went to her voicemail then he left her a message.

Behind him, on the other side of the garage door, Logan had his forehead pressed against the door, his eyes squeezed shut.


	4. Mr Brightside

"Hi Veronica," Logan said quietly.

"Hi," she replied and she seemed pleased to hear from him. He used to think he could actually hear her smiling on her end of the phone when he would call. Now he wondered if it was just his imagination. "Did you guys make it to the river all right?"

"Yeah. I wish you were here."

"Me too."

He paused. When he started talking again his voice was strained. "Veronica?"

"Yes?"

"If you didn't love me any more you would tell me wouldn't you?" He heard her catch her breath but before she could reply he forged ahead, letting the words fumble out of his mouth. "I mean, you would be straight with me. You wouldn't let me find out some other way, right?"

"Logan, why would you ask me something like that?"

He squeezed his eyes shut for half a second. _Ask her, idiot. _But he was too afraid to hear the answer.

"I guess I'm still freaked about seeing you with Duncan this afternoon," he lied.

"Logan, Duncan and I are not seeing each other behind your back."

"I know." _Now_. "I just---you know what my relationship with Lilly was like. You'd never do that to me right?"

"No," she whispered, "I wouldn't."

"Ok." He mumbled. "Well I better go. I love you."

"I love you too," she said in a strangely strangled voice, like she was trying not to cry. "And Logan, I don't see that changing in the foreseeable future."

"Good to know," he said and he clicked off the phone and tossed it on the seat beside him. Then he turned his eyes back on the road. It had taken them five hours to make the drive to Arizona but that had been in traffic. He figured now that it was the middle of night and he was breaking every speed limit known to man he could make it back in three and a half.

A little voice in the back of his head kept telling him that this was a bad idea. That the last time he'd come home early from a trip to hunt down a cheating girlfriend he'd been accused of murdering her.

_Veronica is not cheating on you! She is not Lilly_! Then why was he driving across two states to--to what? Confront her? Catch her in the act? He couldn't say for sure, only that he had to do it.

He reached over and turned on the radio. The quiet voice on the CD poured out:

_What if you should decide that you don't want me there by your side?_

_That you don't want me there in your life?_

Cursing Meg's choice in music he snapped the radio on instead. A rather anguished voice was raging out:

_Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?  
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?_

_Are you gone and onto someone new?  
_

Angrily Logan punched another preset button.

_Now they're going to bed_

_And my stomach is sick_

_And it's all in my head _

_But she's touching his chest now_

_He takes off her dress now_

_Let me go_

_And I just can't look _

_It's killing me _

_And taking control _

Shaking his head he tried yet another preset.

_I think you're sleeping with a friend of mine_

_I have no proof but I think that I'm right_

With a growl Logan shut off the radio completely. He'd rather fall asleep at the wheel then listen to any more of that. If God, or fate, or some sick and twisted cosmic force was trying to tell him something he didn't want to hear it.

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Veronica was still staring at her phone long after she'd hung up.

_He knows. _

"Trouble in paradise?"

She'd forgotten that Troy was stretched out on her couch and glancing at him now she saw he'd taken his shirt off and made himself comfortable.

"Don't." Veronica warned, pointing the phone at him but her voice was breaking. She turned her back on him and tried to catch her breath. Logan had sounded so--_wounded._ And she knew it was because he was suspicious of her. Why couldn't she date someone beautiful _and_ stupid?

Troy put his hands on her shoulders and she whirled on him in a rage.

"What do you think you're doing?"

He put his hands up. "You sounded upset."

"Maybe I am and maybe it has everything to do with what you're doing to me. In which case, I'd be moving farther away from me, not closer."

"Why the hostility, Ronnie?" But he took her advice and stepped back.

"Should I give you a list?" She sputtered. "You played with me like a cat toy, used me up, and then threw me away when your steroid ship came in. And now you're blackmailing me and Logan is in Arizona thinking God-knows-what!"

"Whoa. Back up. How did I use you?"

Veronica let out a soggy laugh. "All those months we were dating. Homecoming? Ring any bells?"

"Veronica, those months were real….."

"Those months were you biding your time until you could reunite with your partner in crime, Shawna."

"Veronica---"

He took a step toward her and she put her hands up.

"Seriously, I am on the edge here and if you want to give me an excuse to go Lorena Bobbitt on you keep on coming."

Troy stopped.

"OK, but you need to listen to me. If I was just hanging out, waiting for my next big drug score, and I was just "biding my time" for Shawna to come a callin' then why, out of every girl in Neptune High, would I have chosen to go out with you? The one girl who had the mind and brass to figure it all out and foil my nefarious plan?"

That gave Veronica pause. Put that way it didn't make a lot of sense. But she shook her head.

"You underestimated me."

He shook his head.

"Veronica anyone that underestimates you should be fitted for a clown outfit. When I asked you out, when I asked you to Homecoming, every minute we were together, that was real."

Veronica looked at him and felt some of the ice between them melt. But only for half a second.

"So real that as soon as you closed in on an easy score you trashed it to hook up with some other "real" girl?"

"That's not exactly how it happened."

"You know what? I don't care. I really don't. Quite frankly you didn't mean that much to me."

He put a hand over his heart and pretended to stumble back.

"Direct hit!"

She pushed passed him and walked back toward her bedroom. He followed her.

"Shawna called me. She said she was in trouble and I was the only one she could call. She had meant a lot to me once and she was desperate. So when I found out Luke was bringing those steroids over the border I seized the opportunity."

Veronica whirled around on him.

"Seized the opportunity? That drug dealer almost killed him!"

"I didn't know that would happen. Really. I figured he'd pay for the drugs and he'd be square."

"Big of you."

She walked into her bedroom and slammed the door behind her.

"Listen," Troy continued from the other side of the door. "I know I screwed up. I fell back on old habits because that's what I know. I panicked. Shawna told me her dad was beating her again."

Veronica stopped in mid stride. Troy was a brilliant liar. She knew that. But something in his voice….

She pulled open her door and studied him.

"So what happened when you showed up without the ill begotten cash with which you planned to rescue her with?"

"Turns out her dad was in Europe. Had been for a month. She only told me because she was willing to go with me if I had the cash to show her a good time, but penniless? Not so much."

Veronica tried not to grin.

"You'll excuse me while I pause to enjoy the irony?"

"You wouldn't be you if you didn't." He sighed.

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Author's note: Sorry this installment took so long. I was on vacation last week. Not a computer in sight. Thanks again to everyone who's reviewed! I'm afraid things are going to go from bad to worse for poor Logan.


	5. All kinds of ugly

Logan ran his fingers gently down Veronica's bare back. He watched as goose bumps formed in the wake of his touch. She shifted and made a sound that resembled a purr.

"I love you. You know that, don't you?" He asked.

She reached behind her and pulled his arms around her. He moved closer and pressed his body up to hers.

"This I know," she said.

"Good." He leaned down and nibbled on her ear while he slowly moved his fingers over her flat stomach. "But you know that I have some issues."

She laughed and there was something jarring about it.

"More issues then a magazine rack, lover."

Logan jerked away from her and she rolled over and regarded him curiously. But it wasn't Veronica. It was Lilly.

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Logan jerked awake. He ran his hands through his hair and looked around, momentarily believing that he _had_ fallen asleep behind the wheel. But then it came back to him. He'd driven to Veronica's but while he sat in his car contemplating what exactly he was going to do he must have fallen asleep. He glanced at his watch and saw that it was still early.

He was about to climb out of the car when his phone rang. Without really thinking about it he answered it.

"Logan, where the hell are you?" Duncan whispered frantically into the phone as he smiled and nodded at the others in the living room.

Wallace was applying suntan lotion to Mac's back while Meg was putting lotion on his back. He couldn't look more delighted if he tried.

"Make sure to put on two coats," he was saying to Meg. Then he glanced up at her skeptical expression. "What? You don't think a black man can burn?"

Duncan turned his back on them and walked a little farther away from the group.

"I forgot something," Logan mumbled. "I had to go back and get it."

"Go back?" Duncan said. "Wait a minute. You went home!"

Meg, Meg and Wallace all looked up at him, startled.

"I forgot my trunks," Logan replied. "You know how attached I am to them."

"Logan…."

"Listen, I'll be back in a couple of hours. Go out on the boat and have fun and frolic without me."

"How exactly do you expect me to get the boat in the water without a car?"

"Oh. Well. Rent one. Put it on my tab."

"Logan," Duncan said, raising his voice appropriately now that the rest of his friends already realized that something was up. "Tell me what is really going on."

"No," Logan replied savagely. "Why don't you tell _me_?"

Duncan closed his eyes. _Shit_.

"I don't know," he said truthfully.

"Well I'm about to find out," Logan replied, snapping the phone off.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Veronica stumbled out of her bedroom to the foreign smell of pancakes. Not McGriddle cakes, but honest to God homemade pancakes. She stopped when she found Troy standing at the stove with a spatula.

"What are you doing?" She demanded.

"Maybe you're not a sharp as I gave you credit for," he said with a grin. "Making breakfast."

"Why?" She demanded as her stomach gave a traitorous growl. She wrapped her arms around her stomach and realized she was still in her pajamas.

"Because my last meal was at 7 pm last night and the body needs substance in order to survive." He pointed the spatula at the counter where there was some bacon on a plate. "Nosh on that while you're waiting."

Veronica wanted to turn around and at least throw some clothes on but the smell of the bacon was too tempting to deny. She picked up a piece and sniffed it carefully for poison.

Troy saw her and laughed.

"Think I spiked your breakfast meat?"

She gave him a knowing look and carefully bit into the bacon.

"Where did you learn to cook?" She asked.

"I've been on my own for a while now," he explained as he slid the pancake onto a plate. "I thought I'd try and make up for some things by regaling you with my culinary expertise."

"You'd have make every meal I ate until I died to make up everything to me," she replied. Hearing Troy explain to her that he hadn't played her when they were dating had made her feel better. But it still didn't make up for what he was doing to her now.

She reached over and picked up her cell phone and contemplated calling Logan. He'd sounded so miserable the night before. But she glanced at the clock and figured he wasn't awake yet.

As if reading her mind, Troy slid another pancake onto her plate and said: "You know, I never told you to lie to Logan."

Veronica snickered. "If I had told Logan what you were up to you'd still be looking for your teeth." She set the phone down. "Besides, he was already leaving town. It was just easier this way. I'll tell him all about you and your blackmailing scheme when he gets home."

"Blackmail is such a--"

"Accurate term?"

"I'd like to think of it as you helping out an old friend."

"Let me point out what's wrong with that statement. The words "friend" and "helping"."

Veronica's phone rang and she picked it up again and saw that it was Duncan. After that everything happened at once, in what seemed like slow motion. She answered the phone just as someone knocked at the door.

"Hello?" she said as Troy walked over to answer the door.

"Veronica!" Duncan practically shouted into her ear. "It's Logan. I just talked to him. He's headed home. He may already be there."

Veronica's head snapped to the door.

"Troy, don't---"

But he was already pulling the door open and to Veronica's horror she realized that he was shirtless and still only wearing the sweat pants he'd slept in the night before.

Logan looked up as the door opened and in the span of about three seconds he took in the entire scene. Veronica was standing by the kitchen counter in a short nightgown, her cell phone in her hand, staring at him with the most damning look of guilt he'd ever seen. He vaguely registered the smells of the cozy little breakfast they were sharing as he noted Troy, his old buddy, standing at the door half dressed, looking stunned.

"Logan…" Veronica shouted and it was like the bell at boxing match. Logan pulled back and sent his fist crushingly into Troy's face.

Troy stumbled back and fell. He put his hand up but he was too dazed to speak. So Logan turned on Veronica.

"You _swore _to me Veronica. You swore you wouldn't do this to me." He swallowed hard and his voice broke. "After Lilly…."

Veronica shook her head frantically. She could see his heart breaking right in front of her eyes.

"Logan, I swear--" But she couldn't finish her sentence because Troy had managed to get to his feet. Logan heard him and turned around.

"Hey, buddy," Logan said, his rage igniting again. He pulled back his fist but Troy managed to dodge it. When the swing went wide he sent his own fist into Logan's stomach. Logan doubled over and using both fists he came down hard on Logan's back.

"Troy stop!" Veronica shouted.

Logan's legs buckled beneath him and his head clipped the end of the table before he hit the ground. Then his body didn't move at all.

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Well a lot still needs to happen but I believe the next chapter will be the last. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed. I've had terrific response.

SabrinaYutsuki/ Joann--thanks! I really liked Troy too, until, well you know, he turned evil. So part of my intention with this story was to soften his image a bit.

Simply Lily—I'd certainly be in the line to make Logan happy :)

Joycelyn Solos—Wow! Thanks!

Firefly2000—Snickerdoodles?

Ablaze—It's funny how many songs on the radio right now are so fitting for Logan's situation.

Jacedes—sorry about the stress!

beaglelover719—I had a lovely vacation, thanks, and I don't want to give anything away but I promise Logan won't be jumping off any bridges in this story!

If I had the time I'd thank each and everyone of you for your encouraging reviews! I get a thrill every time I get one in my mailbox!


	6. White lines white lies

Veronica yanked on the door once again and cried out in frustration. She didn't think her day could get any worse then how it started but now that she was standing in a broom closet, covered in pink foam, on a floor that was sticky with God-knows-what she was rethinking the evaluation.

She pounded on the door again and shouted but she knew it was pointless. The music outside was too loud. She kicked the door and pushed her hands through her hair.

It had all been for nothing. She had ruined everything for nothing.

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_12 hours earlier…._

"Logan," Veronica said, rolling him onto his back. "Logan, can you hear me?"

But his head only sagged alarmingly to the side. Veronica looked up at Troy.

"Call 911," she said, trying to keep the panic out of her voice. "He's out cold."

Troy nodded and stepped toward the phone then stopped.

"Veronica…."

She looked up at him and her eyes were wide with fear.

"What? Call them!"

"Veronica, if we call 911 the police will come. They can't find me here."

Veronica stood up and said in a deadly voice: "Your problems mean so very little to me right now."

"I realize that," he said calmly. "But currently they are your problems too. Do you really want all this to be for nothing?"

Veronica grabbed at the phone but Troy snatched it away from her.

"What!" She screamed at him. "Do you expect me to leave him here unconscious on the floor?"

Troy shook his head. "We'll take him to the hospital ourselves. Tell them he fell. It'll buy us some time."

Veronica felt angry tears stinging the back of her eyes.

"Do you have any idea how much I loathe you?" She whispered.

"Yeah," he said with a nod. "I kinda do."

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Veronica looked down at Logan, lying still as a corpse in the hospital bed, and the same thoughts that had been swirling in her head for hours continued their relentless whirlwind in her mind.

_He's going to wake up and he's going to hate you. _

_As long as he wakes up_, another, darker voice responded.

_It's just a slight concussion. _

_Then why hasn't he woken up yet? _

Veronica shook her head and ran a hand through her hair. The doctor was having the same thought, she knew. When they'd first arrived he'd only been in the room long enough to assess Logan and then he disappeared. But three hours later when Logan hadn't woken up he'd come back several times.

The second time, he personally questioned Veronica on how Logan got injured and it was clear he was not convinced by her explanation of Logan tripping over his own feet and hitting the table in her living room.

Veronica leaned over and brushed the hair away from Logan's forehead.

"Please wake up," she whispered. "How can I explain everything if you won't wake up?"

He wouldn't forgive her if she had been cheating on him. That she was certain of. But she hadn't been. And for the hundredth time she cursed herself for letting Troy twist her into his plan. And then she cursed herself again for letting him sleep on her couch when his parents came home from Europe unexpectedly.

_You should have let him sleep in his damn car._

She ran her fingers up and down Logan's arm.

_He wouldn't forgive me for cheating on him but he will for all of this. He'll understand why I did it. He has to understand. _

"Veronica?"

Veronica stiffened and she didn't turn around. If she actually looked at Troy he was going to be needing a room of his own.

"Veronica, we have to go."

"He hasn't woken up yet."

"You've been here for hours."

"And he _still_ hasn't woken up."

"He's in the hospital, they'll take care of him."

She felt his hand on his arm and she yanked it away from him.

"I have to explain everything to him. He thinks I'm sleeping with you."

"You can explain later. We have to go."

"If I'm not here when he wakes up he'll never believe me. He'll shut me out completely."

"And if we don't leave now he could spend the next ten to twenty in prison."

Veronica turned slowly toward Troy. "You would really do it, wouldn't you?"

"Veronica, I wish I were less concerned about my own self preservation then I am but it's just the kind of guy I am." He scooped up her arm again. "We have to go."

Veronica jerked her arm away from him and pulled a notebook out of her purse. She scribbled a hasty note and then laid it on Logan's chest. She leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to his forehead then she turned and left the room with Troy.

As soon as she left Logan opened his eyes. He sat up carefully and his head protested in agony. He pulled open the note Veronica had left and read it.

_Logan, I swear on Lilly's grave that I am not cheating on you. Please believe me. I will be back soon. Love, Veronica. _

Logan curled the note in his fist and tossed it aside. Then he carefully slid out of the hospital bed.

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The warehouse was enormous and still it seemed like it was brimming to capacity. Hundreds of people were writhing to the music that was pumping like a pulse throughout the room. It was dark and hot from the body heat and colored lights splashed across the mass of people making them look like a turbulent ocean. A cry of appreciation rippled across the room as pink foam suddenly glopped from the ceiling and people raised their arms and shouted.

Troy and Veronica surveyed the party from the entrance.

"How are we supposed to find anyone in this?" Veronica asked.

"With diligence," Troy replied.

Veronica turned and looked up at him. "If she isn't here then it's your problem from now on, got it? I'm out."

"She'll be here," Troy said, casting his eyes over the crowd. "This is exactly her type of party."

"Lovely."

Troy offered her his hand and with a scowl she took it. The DJ said something about going old school and a cheer went up when the song started playing. Veronica grinned sourly.

"They're playing your song," she shouted to Troy, now that they were in the thick of the crowd.

Troy tipped his head and listened.

_A street kid gets arrested, gonna do some time_

_He got out three years from now just to commit more crime_

_A businessman is caught with 24 kilos _

_He's out on bail, and out of jail and that's the way it goes…_

"Wicked, Veronica Mars. You are wicked."

As they had done at the beach party they danced as a way to case the place. They made their way around the dance floor scanning the crowd. Veronica didn't see anyone she knew until Troy spun her around and she landed awkwardly on Wanda Sykes foot.

Wanda's protest at being stomped on stuck in her throat when she recognized Veronica.

"Veronica," she said, "I wouldn't have expected to see you here."

"Neither would I," she replied cooly and she turned back to Troy.

"Friend of yours?" Troy asked.

"Not exactly," Veronica replied. "Let's move over to the other side."

They danced for another hour and it was beginning to work on Veronica's nerves. She wanted to know that Logan was all right, not be at a borderline orgy with Troy.

"I'm going to call the hospital," she shouted to Troy, just as a stream of foam poured down over her head.

Troy gave a whoop of delight and Veronica covered her head and made a dash for the door. Once outside Veronica took a deep breath of the cool night air. The suspiciously scented air inside was starting to give her a headache. And a craving for White Castle.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket and saw that she had twelve messages. She quickly scanned through them and noted that every single one of them was from Duncan. It suddenly occurred to her that the last time she spoke with Duncan was when Logan walked into her apartment and he'd probably heard the entire scuffle. He was probably worried as hell.

She was contemplating whether to call the hospital or Duncan first when she suddenly tuned into a conversation a few feet away.

"Yeah, I can totally help you out." A blonde in a short shirt and beaded tank top was saying to a guy who was clearly already strung out. She glanced up and saw Veronica looking at her. "Let's go inside where it's more private."

Veronica put her phone back in her pocket and followed them inside. She stayed a comfortable distance away from them so she wouldn't spook them and she glanced around for Troy. She couldn't imagine what she was thinking leaving him alone in this crowd. She'd never find him again.

The strung out guy walked passed her and her eyes shot back to the blonde. Veronica smiled brightly and walked over to her.

"Hey, can you help me out too?"

The blonde looked at her suspiciously.

"With what?" She snapped back.

"She's looking to buy what you've got to sell Shawn baby." Troy said from behind Veronica.

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Author's note: I know I said that this would be the final chapter but it turned out much longer then I anticipated so I broke it in two. I'm sorry for the long wait. I tend to procrastinate toward the end of a story, not wanting it to end. The final chapter is done so it'll be up soon. Promise.

P.S. Season two tonight! Can't wait!


	7. Payback

The blonde's jaw dropped and Veronica turned and found Troy standing behind her.

"Troy?" she squealed, completely forgetting Veronica was there. "Baby what are you doing here?"

She sauntered over and put her arms around his neck.

"Looking for you," he replied.

She tipped her head and smiled at him.

"You're not mad at me are you?"

"Mad?" He chuckled. "Because you stole my last score and left me to take the rap?"

"Yeah, because of that." She leaned up and kissed him. Veronica rolled her eyes and tried not to gag.

"Listen, Shawna," Troy said, once he got his breath back from the kiss. "I need the drugs back. The only way I can bargain my sentence is if I prove that the drugs never hit the market."

Shawna made an embarrassed "oops" sound and then gave a throaty laugh.

"Don't tell me you sold all of it?"

"Well I didn't exactly _sell_ all of it," she chuckled.

Veronica pulled out her cell phone. Troy saw her and put his hand up.

"Veronica don't."

"Don't? She sold them all Troy. You have nothing left to bargain with. And now that you have your real accomplice you don't have to finger Logan."

Shawna ran her finger down the side of Troy's face. "The drugs are gone but I still have the money," she cooed.

Troy looked down at her and to Veronica's alarm, she saw something sparkle in Troy's eyes.

"What do you say?" Shawna whispered.

"I say he's not that stupid," Veronica protested. Shawna turned and glared at Veronica then looked back up at Troy.

"Come on baby, I've got the cash for our dash. Let's do what we always planned. You and me. In style."

Veronica saw Troy's expression and she shook her head.

"Troy…."

"Veronica's right," Troy said, disengaging from Shawna's grasp. He walked over to Veronica and took her phone. "You left me hanging out to dry once, what makes you think I'd set myself up for that again?"

He started dialing and then stopped.

"Then again, it would be a hell of a ride wouldn't it?" In one fluid motion he tossed the phone to Shawna and turned and popped open the door to a broom closet behind Veronica. Before she knew what was happening, he gave her a gentle shove and she stumbled backwards.

"You are that stupid!" Veronica cried as the door slammed in her face.

"What can I say, Ronnie," Troy shouted from the other side. "Love makes you do the wacky."

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Veronica looked around the room for something that would help her pry the door open. She picked up a broomstick and was about to pummel the door with it when it suddenly popped open and she pulled back before she impaled whoever it was that opened it.

"Veronica?"

Veronica dropped the broom handle in shock.

"Logan?"

He stepped inside and the intense anger she had expected to see in his face wasn't there. Instead, when he laid his eyes on her he looked relieved. He crossed the small room and scooped her up in his arms.

Veronica was too stunned for words. Instead she hugged him fiercely. Until he started to sway and had to grab a nearby shelf for balance. She pulled back and looked at him.

"Are you OK? Why aren't you in the hospital? You were unconscious for hours!" And then a shadow clouded her face. "Logan, we have to find Troy. He can't get away."

She grabbed his hand but he didn't move. She turned on him. "Logan, I swear, I'm not sleeping with him. He's been blackmailing me. If I didn't help him find his ex-girlfriend he was going to name you as him accomplice to lessen his sentence. He said they were suspicious of you already because of the trips you made to Mexico with him and---"

He yanked her back into his arms and leaned down and kissed her. She stood stunned as his mouth caressed hers. She couldn't believe it had been that easy. There was suppose to be crying involved on her part. Possibly some swearing.

He pulled away from her and grinned at her dumbfounded expression.

"You believe me?" She sputtered.

He took her hand. "Of course."

He led her outside. "It helped that I overheard him threatening you in my hospital room. And that I found this when I got here."

They stepped outside and that's when she saw the police cars. Both Troy and Shawna were both handcuffed and Veronica sagged against Logan in relief.

"But how you managed to accomplish that from a broom closet boggles my mind."

Veronica grinned and looked around. Wanda Sykes spotted her and strolled across the parking lot over to them.

"We have four people who will testify that they bought drugs off of Shawna tonight and they already confirmed the arrest warrant for Troy. When I couldn't find you I called it in."

Logan raised an eyebrow at her.

"You really are a narc?"

Wanda ignored him and looked pointedly at Veronica.

"We square now?"

Veronica nodded. She was feeling generous. She looked up at Logan who was staring at Troy with his jaw clenched.

"Come on," Veronica said, tugging on his hand. "Take me home. I need to wash off this foam."

Logan looked down and smiled at her. "So we're finally getting to the payoff you owe me?"

"I get the impression I'm going to be paying you off for some time."

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Veronica and Logan walked across the courtyard of her apartment hand in hand. Logan was already envisioning a bathtub in his immediate future when they heard the voices on the terrace above them.

"There they are."

"Veronica are you all right?"

"Logan!"

They both looked up and Duncan, Meg, Wallace and Mac were looked down at them anxiously from above.

Logan, realizing that his evening was ruined once again, was already spewing a string of curses as their friends trampled down the stairs. Veronica laughed and buried her head in his chest.

"Remember they are here because they are concerned for your well being," she whispered to him.

"They've just ruined my well being," he replied as the group reached the bottom of the stairs.

They were still in shorts and t-shirts and smelled of suntan lotion.

"What happened?" Meg asked, looking at the large bruise at Logan's temple.

"It's a long story." Logan said. "Maybe we can talk about it to---"

"Come on up," Veronica said. "You must be exhausted from that drive."

"Yeah, especially since we had to rent a car first," Duncan pointed out.

Logan rolled his eyes. It was going to be a long night.

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Logan closed his eyes as Veronica rubbed the suntan lotion on his back. Duncan's boat bobbed quietly beneath them and Logan's feet dangled over the side in the cool water. Veronica thought Duncan had loaned them the boat and the use of the house and he wasn't inclined to disillusion her quite yet. Instead he was just grateful that they'd found such an isolated little cove to beach at.

"Should I go over it again?" Veronica asked.

"The rules?"

"No," she laughed. "I meant your back. Do you need a second coat?"

"Definitely," he replied.

He felt his skin tingle as she eased her hands over his shoulders.

"And I don't think we need to go over the rules again," she remarked. "I think we've established them, don't you?"

He nodded, although he was having trouble concentrating as her fingers went down his arms.

"If I find you wrapped around Jude Law I don't jump to any conclusions until I've heard the whole story," he mumbled.

"If you find me wrapped around Jude Law," she remarked, "assume the worst."

He whirled around and grabbed her by the waist, tackling her into one of the boat seats.

"I'm kidding!" She laughed.

He nuzzled her neck and his hands went to the strings of the pink bikini that she was wearing.

"And I don't ever lie to you," she said quietly, running her fingers over his chest, "even if I think it's going to protect you from the community soap."

"That sounds about right," he mumbled, completely losing his ability to think.

She slipped her arms around his neck. "So how long do you think I'll continue to "owe" you for the entire Troy debacle anyway? Despite the fact that I did it with only the best intentions in my heart."

"Oh, it's going to be a while," he promised, pulling loose the string tying her top. "Could be months…."

Veronica sighed. There were worst punishments, she decided.

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Well there it is. Sorry it took so long to get out. I ended up tinkering with it at the end. I don't have any other Veronica Mars stories in mind at the moment but I imagine as the season goes on I will be inspired to do so. Especially if this whole Duncan storyline continues. (I actually like Duncan but the chemistry between Logan and Veronica is so much better)

In a completely different realm (or realms I guess) I have a strange little Star Wars/ Serenity/ Spiderman/ Roswell story that has been rolling around in my head for some time. But I may take a break before embarking on that one.

So thanks again to everyone who reviewed!I appreciate everyone who takes the time to do so. You guys rock! And really what would be the point if no one read it? So thanks for giving me the inspiration to continue.


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